mel_ @closeyestoexit - Tumblr Blog

Y'all want to know what thought is fucking with me today?

Parrots can learn the concept of questions. I don't know about the claim that chimpanzees that were taught sign language never learned to ask questions, or the theory that it simply wouldn't occur to them that the human handlers might know things that they personally do not, or that whatever information they have might be worth knowing. But I don't even remember where I read that, and at best it's an anecdote of an anecdote, but anyway, parrots.

The exact complexity of natural parrot communication in the wild is beyond human understanding for the time being, but you can catch glimpses of how complex it is by looking at how much they learn to pick up from human speech. Sure, they figure out that this sound means this object, animal, person, or other thing. Human says "peanut" and presents a peanut, so the sound "peanut" means peanut. Yes. But if you make the same sound with a rising intonation, you are inquiring about the possibility of a peanut.

A bird that's asking "peanut?" knows there is no peanut physically present in the current situation, but hypothetically, there could be a peanut. The human knows whether there will be a peanut. The bird knows that making this specific human sound with this specific intonation is a way of requesting for this information, and a polite way of informing the human that a peanut is desired.

"I get a peanut?" is a polite spoken request. There is no peanut here, but there could be a peanut. The bird knows that the human knows this. But without the rising intonation of a question, the statement "I get a peanut." is a firm implied threat. There is no peanut here, but there better fucking be one soon. The bird knows that the human knows this.

heartcosmicsoul

Memory is mist: love is throwing everything into the fire. And always in vain.

Marina Tsvetaeva

chandelyer-deactivated20241003

Reminder that I am also active on instagram, it would mean so much to me if you could check out my page! Here's my latest post on it:

The Atelier Couture

catchymemes

soracities

where do you find articles or personal essays to read? and also do you have any favorite sources for news? i want to read more but i’m having a difficult time finding sources 🤍

I've answered this just recently but here's a more complete list for essays from places I visit most often (favourites are marked **)

LitHub**

Electric Literature**

Guernica Magazine**

Hazlitt**

Longreads**

Pangyrus

The Dial**

Bloodknife**

Aeon **

The Marginalian**

Asymptote Journal

N+1

Nautilus**

Quanta Magazine**

The Believer

Ordinary Plots**

The Point Magazine

The Baffler

Paris Review (Redux newsletter is good for things usu behind the paywall)

The New Yorker

The Artifice

The Collector

The Rumpus

Catapult

Tin House Archives (the online section is no longer running but past publications are still available)

Additionally, highly recommend switching to Mozilla Firefox and trying the "Pocket" feature on their homepage: it collects links to articles across the web on topics that are either trending or based on the Pocket suggestions you usually click on. I'm on private browser 99% of the time but there's still 2 or 3 articles at least that I'm always interested in and I love it!

Some other places I read things: Poets&Writers, Atlas Obscura, The Guardian, The Independent, New Scientist, Al Jazeera, The Atlantic, BBC, National Geographic, Wired, NY Times, GQ, NPR, The Irish Times / Independent, etc., I don't have favourite news sources as a rule since I usually read 2 or 3 articles on the same topic from different places depending on what it is (I don't like relying on single sources). But on the whole this covers most of what cross my orbit unless I'm looking for something specifically 💗

kosmogrl

closeyestoexit

i'll try to take good care of it now. i hope it's not too late

raeiyyn

on loneliness

Amy Dunne // Nickie Zimov // Carol Lee, To Die For // Marie Alsing // Anne Sexton, A Self Portrait in Letters // As Tears Go By (1988) dir. Wong Kar Wai // Fyodor Dostoevsky in a letter to his wife Anna Dostoevsky, 28 August 1879 // Aron Wiesenfeld // Margaret Atwood, from "Thoughts From Underground"

raeiyyn

on dissociation from the self

fernando pessoa, the book of disquiet// clementine von radics // francine pascal, sam// morne venter, the happening // catherynne m valente, the orphan's tales: in the night garden

inter-stellar-dust

Everyday schedule

b1oodhail

been crying for like two hours because I found out the old retired sumo wrestler I keep up with in Japan who runs a capybara visiting center might not be able to afford to keep it open and may have to shut down because nobody is visiting anymore because of covid……… this man loves these capybaras…… I am devastated ….

mathair-thiomanta

I love sumo! Who was it?

b1oodhail

can we all collectively rally together to protect capybara land

mathair-thiomanta

Support the cappies!

theorajones

Link to his IG profile for everyone’s convenience: https://www.instagram.com/capybara_land_puipui/

peoplefromheaven

The start of a new month:

Clean out purses

Set monthly goals

Make plans with family and friends

Schedule appointments

Review and prepare for any birthdays, weddings, etc

Deep clean

Go over budget

Clean out the fridge

Plan your to read list

haruharuz

Planning 6 Months Ahead

I know people are about to scream at me up and down telling me how stupid it is to do. Save your breath darlings, imma do it regardless. This is a LONG process so buckle up.

Areas covered: cleaning, habits, meals, exercise & stretching, studying

Ground Rules:

You can't do this if you dedicate every second of every day to work and it is going to fail quickly if you don't account for being human. And I mean very quickly.

And also you need a transition period BEFORE you go through with this so please remember to account for that when scheduling. Transition period is about 1-3 weeks of building HABITS that you'll be writing later. This helps you succeed.

So here's a few things I'm adding to my plans:

Make-up Day once per week. This allows me to catch up to anything I may have missed that isn't habitual or unhealthy to do so.

Nature Day once per week. Whether it's a walk in the park or going kayaking. Do something small to get out and relax for an hour or two.

No socials for 20-30 minutes per day

2-4 out days per month. With friends, or without. Do something like go out to eat, go to a club etc. Giving myself a budget to each day.

Meal Plan, non obsessively. You want to collect a whole fuck ton of meal ideas, some aesthetically pleasing and some not. Splurge meals and cheap meals. But you need to account for the fact that you won't be able to stick to this completely. This is where easy, extremely low effort meals come in handy.

Find your resources now, not later. You'll get overwhelmed more easily.

You need need need fuck up buffers. Which means ways to catch yourself if you start falling. Low effort days, put away some money for car trouble, etc.

Make this as easy as possible, use apps for yoga if you need, reminder apps, alarm clocks, etc.

Add anything else to the ground rules that will make your life easier and help you personally. These are just examples.

Continuing..

Gather a bunch of meal ideas & inspiration, write them down. You can skip this step if it bothers you.

Write down all of your big, daunting goals. Turn those big, daunting goals into smaller goals.

Write down a list of products you use and an estimated amount of time it takes for you to run out of them.

Write down any self care/personal changes you want to work on, especially habits.

Find resources you need to meet your goals.

Find a cleaning list online, or write one yourself.

For studying, write down a list of all exams/quizzes and their dates

So now you feel a little overwhelmed. You've got a ton of lists full of stuff everywhere and you're looking at me like "oh my god what do I do" but zhhh it's fine it's fine.

Write down the easiest, cheapest meals you can. I'm talking canned soup, ramen, chips and salsa. Stuff that you're going to need to rely on every so often.

Write down the tasks it takes to get to each smaller goal in as much detail as possible. E.g. instead of "read lesson" try "chapter 1 bio textbook". Clear and consice.

If you're adding exercise/stretching to this, find some easy workouts that are ten minutes or less and write them down (like the name of them)

For studying, you can write down all the notes you need to do etc at this step.

Now for the fun (horrible) part ! Get out a calendar. It's time to organize all of this bullshit... And also figure out how to make this shit easier for you.

First things first, anything regarding cleaning, I'm telling you now : prevention works. If you start changing certain bad habits into good habits it gets a whole lot easier.

As for food, think of ways to make your favorite easy foods more satiable if possible. Tortilla chips and salsa your fav? Mix black beans and corn and your salsa to add more protein and nutrients into it. Remember you gotta have these to stick, so you don't feel overwhelmed.

Exercise / Stretching please give yourself at least one rest day per week to just fuckin vibe. It's also easier to do if you do it right after you wake up !

Make life easier for yourself. Find simple resources that work well for you. Use them. You don't have to HATE life to be successful.

Anyways..

The next step is to organize this all. Look through your months and organize those ground rules first.

Start with your out days, that you know won't have anything planned. Write down a basic budget for each.

Write down any major appointments, work meetings, etc.

Now move on to the smaller goals. Separate them however you want. Make a goal date to have them done.

The moment you have those separated you will slowly watch everything come to life. Now all you need to do is take the TASKS it takes to get to those goals, and plug them into weeks/days.

Look at your cleaning list and ask yourself how you can make the list easier to handle. If you have bad habits you'll work on them. The leftover tasks.. separate them into a schedule. If they need to be done weekly pick what days to do them and write them down.

Add in reminders to buy certain products that you know you're going to run out of

Write down any oil changes etc / grocery days / meal planning days

You're pretty much done at this point. It's a long process but now you have your goals properly mapped out and such. Now all you need is to write down what workouts to do on what days and what meal ideas you wanna try on what days. I don't recommend doing that part more than two weeks in advance.

If you want from here you can add all of this to a timeblock schedule.

Remember you are a HUMAN you're going to screw up somewhere along the way so please please place fuck up buffers everywhere.

I hope I explained how I did this to everyone properly. If you have questions just shoot me an ask.

prettyxprincess

how romanticizing everything changed my life

- i started to feel beautiful every day. i fell in love with my features and stopped having desires to make changes such as surgery, extensions etc.

- my personality improved drastically. i’m a fun loving girl that enjoys making people laugh and feel good about themselves, and people gravitate towards me for it

- my limiting beliefs decreased immensely. gone were the days of thinking someone else was better suited for the thing i wanted to do, i’m the perfect girl for the job

- i stopped letting what people could *possibly* think about me, hinder me. i can’t read minds. i don’t know what anyone truly thinks….so i’m not going to attempt to

- i finally cultivated a personal style that makes me feel gorgeous. i wear what makes me feel most comfortable and cute!

- i became better at prioritizing rest and relaxation. getting my brows threaded, getting pedicures, watching movies, taking naps. i feel guilt free doing all of those things. i love putting in work, but i need my body to be a well oiled machine in order to really get it all done.

- i let go of the idea that i needed to *act* a certain way be feminine. yes i love pink. do i NEED to wear pink to be feminine? of course not. the things i wear are just outward expressions of my innate femininity. they are not the source of it.

brazillianprincess

screeching-0wl

Hello!

I've been devoted to Apollo for some time now, but I haven't been able to find sources that can clearly explain to me his festivals/holidays and how to celebrate them.

I'm coming from Wicca (as that's all I was exposed to in terms of spirituality, previously), but I feel that its never worked for me. Hellenism seems like a nicer fit, as I'm already interested in the history of the time and I feel connected to the Theoi (especially Apollo) already.

As I'm finding myself in my spiritual journey and figuring things out, I do feel that slowly transitioning (maybe one deity at a time) will be for the best; especially since I'm still young and don't have all the time in the world.

Anyway ! To get to the point (I'm sorry for being all over the place), I was previously celebrating the Wiccan wheel of the year in a more Apollo-centric way, but I would like help finding information on His real festivals and holidays.

I'm sorry if you've gotten a similar ask, or if you've talked about this already! Thank you for this blog, its helped me a lot !!

Hi there!

I was planning to make a post about his festivals anyway, so here we go!

Apollo's festivals

We probably have the most detailed accounts of Attic/Athenian and Panhellenic festivals when it comes to most gods. Of course, other festivals such as regional ones did exist and I could mention some of them and the scarce bits and pieces of information that have survived but in this post I will focus on festivals and celebrations we know a little more about - some of the ones we could celebrate nowadays or even attempt to reconstruct. There were plenty of festivals celebrating different gods and Apollo had quite a few of his own but I think this will be more useful in terms of modern religion.

I will briefly talk about the history, how the festivals were celebrated back in ancient times and what we could do nowadays. Don't stress if you don't have access to some of the things listed as offerings. These are only my suggestions and things that could especially be associated with each festival. It's fine to offer something else.

So, let's go over some main festivals of Apollo:

Just a PSA: you don't have to celebrate all of them

Pythian Games - Panhellenic; every four years - during the third year of each Olympiad

History: The games were said to have been established shortly after Apollo killed Python and set up the oracle at Delphi. They were also meant to commemrate those events.

Celebration: involved various athletic (foot & chariot races) and musical competitions. The winners received a wreath of bay laurels from the city of Tempe in Thessaly.

What could we do nowadays: Offerings - wine, oilve oil, laurel; watch sport/musical competitions on the TV or attend an event like that; physical activity, listen to music, sing, write songs/poetry

Pyanopsia/Pyanepsia - Athenian; 7th day of Pyanopsion (around October)

Gods: Apollo, Helios, Horai

History: The origins of the festival are linked to the Athenian hero Theseus was said to have established the celebration to thank Apollo and commemorate his victory over the Minotaur.

Celebration: Rites incorporated remnants of rustic magic, including two offerings, consisting of a hodgepodge of the pulse (edible seeds) and a branch of olive or laurel bound with wool, around which were hung fruits of the season, pastries, and small jars of honey, oil, and wine. The offerings were carried to the Temple of Apollo, where they were suspended on the gate. The doors of private houses were similarly adorned. Children carried Eiresione [Ειρεσιώνη] - a wand of laurel. They were going from house to house singing. It's possible that in exchange for Eiresione, the children received small gifts. Eiresione was said to bring good luck over the year if fixed above the door.

What could we do nowadays: Offerings - especially seeds from the legume family, grains, honey, wine, olive oil, fruit, incense, laurel & olive branches/leaves; singing, celebrating with your loved ones (if you can), prayer/hymns, exchanging small gifts, hanging a laurel/olive branch over the door

Delphinia - Athenian; also celebrated in various other parts of Greece; 6th Mounychion (around April)

Gods: Apollo & Artemis

History: Again, connected to Theseus

Celebration: involved a procession to the Delphinion (the shrine) where both Apollo and Artemis were worshipped. Seven boys and seven girls carried olive branches, bound with white wool. There's a possibility Apollo was also honoured as a god having influence on the sea.

What could we do nowadays: Offerings - especially olive oil, olive branches/leaves, water, saltwater, wine, incense; going on a walk - especially somewhere by the sea or a river; prayer/hymns

Gynmopedia - Spartan; annual (around the 6th to the 10th of July)

Gods: Apollo, Artemis & Leto

History: might've begun in 668 BCE to honour a Spartan victory in Thyrea. Apparently, it's possible that Lacedaemonians took it "more seriously than any other festival". It was the first public gathering of the new year.

Celebration: it featured enerations of naked Spartan men participating in war dancing and choral singing, basically it was an exhibition of all kinds of accomplishments in gymnastics, music, and dancing. They would honour Apollo through songs and performed songs which represented the phases of life. The leader of each chorus group would wear a headpiece known as the "feather crown" made of palm leaves.

What could we do nowadays: Offerings - palm leaves; dance, singing, blasting music, physical activity, celebrate with your loved ones (if you can), reflect on life a bit

Hyacinthia - Spartan (+Amyclae); three-day & annual (probably early summer)

Gods: Apollo & Hyacinthus

History: Based on mythology. Held in honour of the Spartan youth, Hyacinthus who was a lover of Apollo.

Celebration: Athletic contests were held to commemorate Hyacinthus' death (killed with a miscast discus). The rites gradually passed from mourning for Hyacinthus to rejoicing in the majesty of Apollo. It's probable the festival was connected with vegetation and might've marked the passage between spring and summer.

What could we do nowadays: Offerings - flowers, incense, grains; physical activity, prayer/hymns, take some time to appreciate the people in your life, read the myth about Hyacinthus

Karneia - Spartan, 7th (Attic) Metageitnion/(Spartan) Karneios (around August)

Gods: Apollo (Karneios)

History: Due to the sacred law, the festival was the reason why Spartans did not help the Athenians in the Marathon battle.

Celebration: Five young men were chosen out of each tribe; one man, decked with garlands, ran away, and the rest followed him. The festival might've been connected to vegetation and fertility.

What could we do nowadays: Offerings - flowers, grains, fruit; prayer/hymns, physical acrivity (go for a jog/play tag?), spend some time outside, learn about the Battle of Marathon

Thargelia - Athenian; (pretty important festival), annual 6th & 7th of Thargelion (around May)

Gods: Artemis & Apollo

History: held on birthdays of Artemis & Apollo; sometimes it might've involved human sacrifice, especially in it's early days

Celebration: vegetation ritual; It was common to offerthe first-fruits of the earth to the gods. The first day involved a purifying and expiatory ceremony. On the second day of the festival there was a feast and procession as a mark of thanksgiving. Branches of olive bound with wool, borne by children, were affixed by them to the doors of the houses (pretty much the same thing as during Pyanopsia). Musical contests were also common on the second day.

What could we do nowadays: Offerings - grains, bread, honey cakes, all kinds of fruit (especially figs), honey, wine, olive oil, incense, olive branches/leaves; prayer/hymns, plan a purification ritual/activity (it could even involve things like: cleaning your house, taking a bath, etc.), make dinner and invite friends/loved ones to share it with, sing and listen to music.

Apollo is also honoured during:

Noumenia (new moon) under his epithet Noumenios

The 7th day of each month

During Summer/Winter Solistice (his arrival from/deparure to Hyperborea, marking the change in seasons, if you follow the myth)

Some things that might also be useful:

Here's an example of "Greek Wheel of The Year":

It's a simplified diagram showing some main Hellenic holidays. You can find more info on the website (link above). Of course, this is not the only way to celebrate Hellenic festivals but since you mentioned the Wiccan Wheel of The Year, I figured it could be easier to picture or get used to.

Attic Callendar 2022 - a reconstruction of the Attic (lunar) calendar; days marked for specific festivals and to honour certain deities [FYI Hellenion is kinda problematic, though, so keep that in mind - see more about that here & here ]

Ancient Greek Fesivals - summaries

You can also create a personal, UPG-based festival/holiday! @theoi-crow explains it really well in this post - LINK

I might write a short post about other fesivals for/involving Apollo, such as Stepterion because I think it's particulary interesting but could be difficult to celebrate today. It's more of a bonus, so I'll just link it here once I'm done.

Hope this will be helpful!